Noel grinned. “This is my twin sister, Christina,” he said, skating to a stop.
Noelle smiled shyly, trying not to stare. How did she not know that Noel had a twin sister?
“Hi!” the girl said brightly. She looked a lot like Noel, with the same sparkling brown eyes and brown hair and big smile. She had on a pink skating skirt and white leggings—and pink skates.
“We have the same skates,” Christina said, pointing.
“We totally do! I just got them for my birthday,” Noelle said. Then she turned to Noel. “I didn’t know you had a twin!”
“I go to a different school!” Christina said loudly, and Noelle realized that she spoke a little slowly, too. “I go to the Orchard School.”
Noelle nodded. The Orchard School was a school for special-needs kids.
“I like it there!” Christina said, beaming.
“It looks nice,” Noelle told her. “They have that great playground, right?” The school chorus had performed there once, and Noelle had always remembered the playground. It had all different kinds of cool equipment so that all kinds of kids could play on it.
“Yes!” Christina answered. “I go on it every day. The swing is my favorite because I can go really high.”
“Oh, I love to swing high,” Noelle replied honestly, thinking of the swing in her backyard. It was for little kids, but she still loved to swing on it and just look up at the sky, thinking. “I have a swing in my backyard and it’s my favorite too.”
“Hey, Christina, Noelle’s birthday is today,” Noel told her.
“It is?” said Christina, her eyes wide. “Right on Christmas? That’s so cool. Ours is the night before. Close but not Christmas.”
Noelle laughed. She had never thought of it like that before. “I guess it is pretty special.”
“I’m going to skate by myself, okay?” Christina asked Noel. “Watch me!” And she skated away to a woman who was waving to her. Noelle guessed that she must Noel and Christina’s mom.
Noel skated up closer to her. “Thanks for being so nice to Christina,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” asked Noelle.
“Well, she’s different, and sometimes people don’t know how to act or what to say,” Noel explained. “She just wants everyone to treat her normally. And really she’s just like anyone else mostly, except that she does things a little more slowly.”
They both watched Christina skate. She glided smoothly on the ice and even did a little twirl.
“I always try to be nice to everybody,” Noel said, looking at his sister, “because I always want everyone to be nice to Christina.”
So that explains it, Noelle thought. That’s how he knew how to speak to Eliza and how he was so patient with James. What a sweet guy. Could he be any nicer?
Then Noelle thought of something. Noel didn’t just share his birthday with Christmas Eve, but with a twin.
“So what’s it like sharing a birthday?” she asked.
Noel looked a little sheepish. “Honestly?” he said.
“Honestly!” said Noelle.
“Well,” began Noel, “you know I love Christina and she gets really excited for our birthday. But just once I’d kind of like to have a birthday by myself, you know? Without celebrating it with Christina. And without Christmas on top of it.”
Noelle gave him a sympathetic smile. “You know, I was feeling sorry for myself about having to share my birthday with Christmas, but you have to share your birthday with Christmas and a sister. You totally win.”
They both laughed.
“Want to skate?” Noel asked.
Noelle grinned. “Let’s go!”
They skated around the pond a few times, not saying anything. They stuck together as they dodged the little kids and the slow skaters. On the side of the pond, Noelle spotted her parents. They smiled at her, and her father gave her a really big, corny wave.
Noelle rolled her eyes and replied with a normal little wave. They headed down to the other end of the pond, where Andrew and some of his friends were taking shots with Andrew’s hockey stick in the area reserved for hockey.
It was busy and noisy but Noel and Noelle were still quiet as they circled the pond again, as if there was a little bubble around them. After a while, Noel’s mother called out.
“Noel! We have to go get ready for Christmas dinner!”
To Noelle’s delight, Noel looked a little disappointed at having to leave. She had to restrain herself from doing a little dance.
“Sorry,” he said with a shrug.
“It’s okay,” Noelle replied. “We’ll probably be going soon too.” They skated toward the benches and sat down on one right under a tree. Noelle looked up and saw that someone had hung a sprig of mistletoe there.
She froze, panicked. Did Noel see it? If so, what would he do? She sat there shivering a little as Noel took off his skates, but not because she was cold.
Noel looked up and saw the mistletoe, breaking into a grin.
“See that?” he said, pointing, and she looked up, trying to pretend she hadn’t noticed.
“Um . . . ,” she began, but before she could even say anything else, Noel gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“It’s tradition!” he said, and his face was a little pink. “I hope you have a great birthday, Noelle!” and before she knew it he was hurrying away.
Noelle was so dizzy she could barely speak.
“Merry birthday,” she said, and it took her a second to realize that she had mixed up merry Christmas and happy birthday, just like Uncle Marty did.
Noel stopped and gave her a big smile. “That’s perfect! Merry birthday, Noelle!”
Noelle sighed happily as she watched him hurry to catch up to Christina and his mom. Then she heard a voice behind her.
“Hey, you’re not leaving yet, are you?”
She turned to see Jess, Hailey, and Alyson standing there, holding their skates. Noelle quickly scanned the pond and saw her parents skating in the center of the rink.
“Um, I don’t think so,” she said.
“So let’s skate,” Jess said, flopping down beside her and pulling off her boots.
“Are you having a good birthday?” Hailey asked.
Noelle looked around at her friends, who were all smiling and talking about Christmas. Jess was telling them about the awesome monster Noelle made her. She watched the happy skaters on the pond and the gentle flurries falling down on the scene. Then she touched her cheek. She could still feel a little tingle where Noel had kissed her. She thought about how they skated around, and got a nice warm feeling inside.
Snowflakes were tumbling around, everyone was in a good mood, and she knew she was about ten minutes away from her mom’s famous hot chocolate. Even if it wasn’t as she had planned, so far her birthday was absolutely perfect.
Here’s a sneak peek at the next book in the series:
Rachel likes Brody.
Does he like her too?
Rachel’s Valentine Crush
“COME ON, ROBBIE,” RACHEL PLEADED. “just eat two more bites of broccoli. That’s it. Just two more bites.”
“Peas, peas, peas,” Rachel’s little brother sang. “Peas, please. Peas, please.”
“We don’t have peas tonight,” Rachel said for the hundredth time. “We have broccoli. Eat it up so you can have a special treat.”
“Peas!” Robbie cried hopefully. He banged his fork on the table.
Rachel leaned toward the sink and turned the water on full blast so that Robbie wouldn’t hear her groan.
Bzzzz!
“How’s that broccoli coming?” Rachel called out as she dried her hands on her jeans. Then she pulled her cell out of her back pocket. She could already guess that the text was from her best friend, Taylor—even though Rachel had specifically said that she would text Taylor as soon as she was ready. But Taylor wasn’t exactly the patient type.
Rach! U ready?
“Peas!” Robbie hollered from the dining room.<
br />
“No, broccoli!” Rachel hollered back without looking up from her phone.
No! Still doing dishes and Robbie still eating. Going as fast as I can!!!
But it starts soooooon! Hurry hurry
Believe me, I know
Rachel’s phone was already buzzing again as she shoved it back into her pocket, but she decided to ignore it—at least until Robbie finished eating. She suddenly realized that Robbie was quiet. Unusually quiet. Rachel peeked into the dining room, hoping to find his cheeks puffed out with a giant mouthful of broccoli. Instead, she found Robbie grinning at her with a broccoli floret sticking out of each ear.
“Robbie!” Rachel yelled. “You know you’re not supposed to put food in your ears!”
Robbie’s eyes widened.
Then, in a flash, he popped both broccoli bites into his mouth. Rachel blinked in surprise. She’d never seen Robbie eat his most hated food so fast.
“Tweat?” Robbie asked with his mouth full, spraying bits of broccoli onto the table.
“Okay, but chew with your mouth closed,” Rachel replied as she ducked back into the kitchen. She stared into the pantry, knowing that her dad didn’t like Robbie to eat a lot of sweets. It was the first time that Rachel had been responsible for Robbie’s dinner and bedtime all by herself, and she really didn’t want to mess it up.
Then again, sometimes Grandma Nellie gave Robbie a treat after dinner. Maybe she would’ve given him a little dessert tonight if she hadn’t been at her Scrapbooking for Seniors meeting. So Rachel plucked three chocolate chips from a half-empty bag and brought them to Robbie.
“Here you go, buddy,” she said. “Three chocolate chips for a three-year-old.”
Robbie’s whole face lit up as he shoved the chocolate chips into his mouth. “My chocolate yums!” he cried. “More, please!”
But Rachel had already whisked his plate off to the dishwasher. She glanced at the clock on the microwave; it read 7:46. She had fourteen minutes to finish the dishes and get Robbie to bed before The Scoop came on. Rachel had only watched the gossipy entertainment show once or twice; her dad thought TV shows like that were a giant waste of time. But Rachel hoped that he would make an exception tonight, since she had finished all her homework and her chores before the show started. After all, it wasn’t every night that her former classmate, Brody Warner, was interviewed live on national TV!
Angela Darling was nicknamed “The Love Guru” by her friends in school because she always gave such awesome advice on crushes. And Angela’s own first crush worked out pretty well . . . they have been married for almost ten years now!
When Angela isn’t busy reading romance novels, she works as an editor in New York City. She knows deep down that every story can’t possibly have a happy ending, but the incurable romantic in her can’t help but always look for the silver lining in every cloud.
LOOK FOR MORE CRUSH BOOKS AT YOUR FAVORITE STORE!
SIMON SPOTLIGHT
Simon & Schuster, New York
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON SPOTLIGHT
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Copyright © 2013 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Text by Tracey West
Designed by Dan Potash
Jacket design by Dan Potash
Jacket illustration copyright © 2013 by Autumn Whitehurst
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
SIMON SPOTLIGHT and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
ISBN 978-1-4424-8337-8 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4424-8338-5 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4424-8339-2 (eBook)
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2012956183
Noelle's Christmas Crush Page 9